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Rick Defieux

Rick Defieux, the Chair of SJF IC and co-founder of SJF, has been a venture capitalist for 27 years. Rick is also an advisor to Battelle and Battelle company 360ip where he is Managing Director – Investments of two venture funds in Asia. As a General Partner of Allegra Partners IV and Edison Venture Funds I, II and III, Defieux led investments in more than 25 environmental, energy and communications companies; he received a Cleantech Pioneer Award in 2003 from the Cleantech Group for his early work in cleantech investing. He is a board director at Airxchange and Primex Process Specialists. Defieux has an MBA from Columbia University and a BA and MA from Boston University.

David Kirkpatrick

David Kirkpatrick is Managing Director and co-founder of SJF Ventures, with offices in Durham, NC, New York City, and San Francisco. SJF focuses on high growth, positive impact ventures and was founded in 1999.   David has helped lead SJF’s capitalization of three funds, with the most recent fund, SJF Ventures III, LP, being recognized as the first national Impact Investment SBIC.

SJF Ventures has invested in 35 portfolio companies and David serves on the board of Community Energy, groSolar, ED MAP and B.B. Hobbs, Inc.   David also co-founded SJF Institute, a non-profit corporation, which has assisted 1,800 positive impact enterprises across the US and recently merged with Investors’ Circle.

Previous to SJF, he founded and managed two other successful enterprises – KirkWorks, a cleantech investment research firm, and SunShares, a solar energy and recycling company.   David was named the national 2005 CDVC Practitioner of the Year by the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance and Recycler of the Year in 1996, the National Recycling Coalition’s award for leadership in the recycling industry.

David earned a BA in Physics and History from Duke University in 1982 and an MBA from UNC Kenan Flagler Business School (KFBS) in 1991.   He was named KFBS Executive MBA Alumni of the Year in 2010.

Kirkpatrick’s email is dkirk@sjfventures.com, he is on Twitter @dkirk855 and his phone number is 919-530-1177 x407.

David Griest

David Griest is a Managing Director in SJF Ventures’ Durham, NC office. He joined SJF in 2004. David serves on the board of SJF portfolio companies BioSurplus (used laboratory equipment), Optoro (asset recovery solutions), eRecyclingCorps (reprocessing wireless devices), Rustic Crust (all-natural and organic pizza products) and Telkore (wireless infrastructure services). David also serves as a board observer for Aseptia (sustainable food processing technology). He previously served on the board of Salvage Direct (online salvage vehicle auction) until its successful exit.

David was previously with Croft & Bender, an investment bank in Atlanta that provides venture capital, M&A and other financial advisory services for middle market and emerging growth companies in the Southeast. He also helped manage C&B Capital, a private equity fund that selectively invests in privately-held, small- and mid-sized, high-potential growth companies. C&B Capital’s investments include venture capital for emerging growth companies, growth capital for more established companies and leveraged acquisitions and recapitalizations for growth-oriented companies with strong cash flows.

David has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia. He enjoys mountaineering and hiking to each of the 50 states’ high points.

Griest’s email is dgriest@sjfventures.com and his office number is 919-530-1177 x409.

Alan Kelley

Alan Kelley is the Managing Director for SJF Ventures’ California office. He has led investments in and represented SJF on the boards of MediaMath (digital media trading), ServiceChannel (SaaS for facilities managers), MedPage Today (online content for clinicians), Ryla Teleservices (call center services) and Preclick (photo software).

Prior to joining SJF Ventures, Kelley worked primarily in investment management. He conceived, developed and managed Trusco Capital Management’s first Internet and technology mutual fund, which ranked in the top quintile of the Lipper Science and Technology Funds Universe.

Kelley received a B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University in 1991. He earned his M.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School’s Evening Program at Emory University in 1999.

Kelley’s email is akelley@sjfventures.com and his office number is 415-659-8277. He contributes heavily to SJF’s Web-Enhanced Services Blog.

Arrun Kapoor

Arrun Kapoor is the Managing Director for SJF Ventures’ New York City office and a Ventures Advisor to the SJF Institute. He leads the NYC CleanLinks program and is an Advisory Board Member of NYC ACRE: NYU-Poly and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Green Business Accelerator. He is on the Board of FieldView Solutions and a Board Observer to ServiceChannel and Truist. Kapoor was most recently with Bain & Company in London and Delhi where he launched the firm’s internal green practice initiatives. He worked with Bain’s private equity consulting practice and gained experience in a range of cleantech-related industries. Prior to Bain, he was a founding member and Manager with a successful consulting start-up in New York and London. He holds a Master’s in International Political Economics from the London School of Economics and completed a BA from New York University with an economics and business focus.

Kapoor’s email address is akapoor@sjfventures.com and his office number is 212-209-3063.

Cody Nystrom

Cody Nystrom is a Managing Director at SJF Ventures. She joined SJF in their Durham, North Carolina office in 2007. Cody serves as a board observer for Community Energy, Inc., a Philadelphia-based utility-scale solar developer and renewable energy credit marketer and previously served as a board observer for CleanScapes, a Seattle-based recycling, organics and waste services provider, before their successful exit in 2011. Additionally, Cody serves on selection or advisory committees for Investors’ Circle, Virginia Commonwealth Energy Fund, Virginia Innovation Partnership, and the Venture Forward mentoring group at University of Virginia.

Cody was previously at Ewing Bemiss & Co., an investment bank based in Richmond, Virginia that provides M&A and other financial advisory services to middle-market companies, primarily in the energy and environment fields. She worked on over a dozen M&A transactions and capital raising assignments totaling over $650 million in transaction value. Cody developed deep industry and project finance experience representing companies in the renewable energy space, specifically within the landfill gas, waste-to-energy and energy efficiency sectors. Cody graduated summa cum laude from the University of Virginia with a BS in Systems and Information Engineering and a minor in Business.

Nystrom’s email address is cnystrom@sjfventures.com and her office number is 804-230-1910.

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor is SJF’s Finance Manager and is based in the Durham, NC office. She is a Certified Public Accountant and has more than 30 years experience in both for-profit and non-profit accounting and administration. Most recently she was the Firm Administrator for Thomas, Knight, Trent, King and Company in Durham, NC. In addition to working in finance and accounting, Elizabeth has several years of experience in the non-profit sector including positions with the American Dance Festival, Arts Advocates of North Carolina, the City of Durham, and as a private consultant. Currently she is an active member of the North Carolina Arts in Action and a leader/cook for the Sierra Club Service Committee. Elizabeth lives in Chapel Hill and has two grown daughters.

Elizabeth’s email address is etaylor@sjfventures.com and her office number is 919-530-1177 x401.